Why collect Rare Books?

Age or scarcity by themselves are hardly sufficient to make a rare book also valuable. Books are valued for the significance of their contents, their scarcity, their imprint or date of publication, their physical characteristics or condition, or their associations (signed or annotated by a famous author, for instance). The importance of the text and its sources, the condition of the book, and demand for it will determine the financial valuation of an old book. When building your collection of significant and rare works, an initial motivation might be the creation of personal satisfaction and enjoyment, maybe one of financial gains. With it though will always come the preservation of key elements of our cultural inheritance for generations to follow.